


A Sports Relationship

by thunder_rolled_a_six



Category: Friends at the Table (Podcast)
Genre: Fluff, Hockey, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-19
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:35:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22311850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thunder_rolled_a_six/pseuds/thunder_rolled_a_six
Summary: New little league coach, new town, new romance! A distinct possibility of love letters, forged or otherwise!
Relationships: Red Jack/Throndir (Friends at the Table)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 34
Collections: Secret Samol 2019





	A Sports Relationship

**Author's Note:**

  * For [wannabequeen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wannabequeen/gifts).



> I know so very little about hockey, my deepest apologies to anyone who does

The rink is dimly lit as Adaire shows Throndir around. It’s a Tuesday, which means it only opens to the public in the afternoons and as there are no morning practices scheduled, Adaire explains, there is no reason to waste the electricity. 

“Do you have any idea how much power it takes to keep a rink frozen?” she asks, a single eyebrow raised.

“N- no?” Throndir asks, hoping the question wasn’t rhetorical. “A lot?"

“A lot!” She agrees. "But you've been around rinks before, right? So you can imagine what it looks like in full light."

Throndir nods, looking out onto the dark ice and around at the brighter lobby they stand in. It did indeed look like most other places he'd skated before. He'd noticed more handmade signs hanging around the place than his home rink, and he thought they were more charming than the vinyl printed banners he was used to. Some of them looked like things fans had left behind, some looked like they were done by more childish hands. 

"Any of these kids ones I'll be coaching?" he asks, nodding at the work. 

Adaire looks up at the signs, the first genuine smile Throndir had seen from her pulling at her lips. "Some of them," she nodded.

"Well, they look like they do great work already." 

Adaire smirks. "Yeah. Come on, locker room this way, "

The locker room was also very similar to those Throndir had been in before. Well used lockers, benches that you always wished were more comfortable after a game, a kind of weird but somehow comforting smell of sweaty people and cleaning agents. The logo on the floor was different, this time the tree with twisting roots that represented the Weavers of Old Man’s Chin.

"You won't actually spend much time in here, the kids don't need to use the locker rooms for practice. Unless you wanted to try out for the adult team-"

"No, thank you, I'm good just teaching."

Adaire raises that eyebrow again. "I hope you are. You'll be the fourth attempt to get a kiddie team off the ground."

Throndir frowns. "What... happened the last three times?"

"We had the adult players try to coach. Hadrian is fine on the ice and was very enthusiastic but he's not very good at explaining things and he's terrible at strategy. Red Jack, he's the captain of the Weavers, got too many complaints for being reckless with child safety. Hella was actually great with the kids but punched a referee at the first game and got banned from coaching.”

Adaire points each player out on one of several photos of the team tapped to the wall as she speaks. Hadrian is a man older than you'd expect to be playing hockey with kind eyes and a somewhat bashful smile. Red Jack is so tall he's partway out of the frame, and seems to be blurred in motion. Hella grins bright at the camera. The whole team looks happy, lively. 

"Well," Throndir says absently, “I'll try not to punch anybody."

Adaire shrugs. "Personally, I thought the guy deserved it." It startles a laugh out of Throndir and Adaire smiles again. "Any other questions? First practice is at 3:45 Thursday, after school for the kids, if you want to show up early and set up I can open the equipment room for you."

"Sounds great," Throndir tries to make his smile not look nervous. It seems he has big shoes to fill. Literally, in the case of the man named Red Jack, he can’t help but think. "I can't wait to get started!

\--

When Throndir arrives on Thursday Adaire is waiting, along with two children sporting bright red hair and mildly bored expressions.

"Hey there! You early for practice?" Throndir smiles at them, excited to meet some of the team.

"Yeah, ‘cause mom had to open the dungeon for you," says the younger one, a boy with freckles and a frown.

_Dungeon?_ Throndir is sure he's making a strange face. _Wait-_ "Mom?"

Adaire nods, eyebrows furrowed this time. "Yes." She offers no further explanation, and Throndir finds himself nodding.

"Well- nice to meet you! I'm Throndir."

The kids nod, but say nothing. Throndir starts to sweat.

"Uh. W- what're your names?" 

"I'm Rix," says the girl, taking pity. "I'm tenalmosteleven."

"I'm Ro I'm eightalmostnine!" Shouts the boy, not to be outdone.

Throndir nods. There hadn’t been enough potential players to have the regularly separated age groups so the team would be a mix of Squirt and Peewee kids. "Ah, well happy almost birthday to both of you, then." 

The kids grin, birthday wishes seeming to decide for them that Throndir is worth their time. "Come on! Let's go dungeon!"

The dungeon turns out to be the equipment closet, and with the kids help and Adaire's amused supervising they set up all the necessary cones and smaller practice nets they'll need by the time the other team members start to arrive.

There are twelve kids total on the register, which Throndir figures will give a lot of opportunities to switch kids out in games so no one gets too overworked. When he blows the whistle they all skate with varying levels of steadiness to line up in front of him. He counts down the line but when he gets to the end he finds four extra, much shorter heads. 

"Uh-" he looks down at what seems to be a small gaggle of identical toddlers. He hadn’t thought there were any Mite age kids signed up. "Wh-"

"Dad says they can come skate with us," says the kid next to them, who appears to be around 12 and who is holding the hand of the closest baby. In a no less audible whisper, they continue "They're not on the team for real though."

"Uh… ok… well, um, welcome? Welcome, everyone, to team Sapkin! Lets start with a warm up skate!"

Throndir watches the kids skate a few laps around the rink, looking for what they'll need to work on together. For the most part they seem like strong skaters, Rix and Ro often leading the pack even when Throndir reminds them it's not a race and to stop shoving please. The kid with the younger siblings is confident on the ice, even if they do keep shivering, and they seem to already have a friend among the others, a skinny boy around their age who keeps pace with them and offers them his scarf. The littler kids aren't even bad on the ice, though one lays down in the middle of the rink and starts attempting to make snow angels despite the complete lack of snow. Before the older ones have finished their laps Throndir gathers the mites. 

"Impressive skating, you guys! How about you help me teach the others your moves?" He figures if they're helping him shift cones around and cheering on the others they won't feel left out but also won't accidentally get underfoot. They seem amenable to the arrangement, and the one who was holding their older siblings hand earlier takes Throndir’s. Throndir has to stoop a little to accommodate but he doesn't mind. The nerves he'd been feeling all morning, and honestly for the last few days, are starting to fade now that he's actually here on the ice, but the tiny hand in his feels like an extra vote of confidence.

As Throndir runs everyone through other drills designed to teach them how to handle the puck and skate as a team he starts learning names. The older sibling is called Blue J. 

"It's because they're cold all the time!" Their friend, Benjamin, helpfully provides. Blue J nods, looking woeful. 

The littler kids are quadruplets and all of their names start with J and though Throndir tries his best he only gets a name right every so often. They all think it's very funny, though, and he's almost sure sometimes when he gets the name right they still laugh like he's wrong. They keep cheerfully helping him teach the others, though, parroting his advice in a sort of small, adorable, Greek chorus. 

Practice goes about as well as Throndir could have hoped. There's a bit of chaos as practice shooting goals starts, and a bit of an argument breaks out between Ro (the youngest on the actual team) and some of the others as he tries to take several shots in a row instead of getting back into line, but Throndir manages to both not laugh and diffuse the situation when Ro throws his gloves down and squares up to fight. Afterwards they come together and do the official team cheer (that Throndir wasn't aware of but Benjamin and Rix were happy to lead and which involved everyone coming in close, starting low, throwing their hands up in the air and then sort of falling in a melty way backward onto the ice) and everyone starts heading off the ice. Blue J waves Benjamin and the mites on and comes over to him. 

"Thanks for giving my brothers stuff to do. They get upset when they get left out of things I do, even if they're too small sometimes."

"It was no problem. They were helpful! Ja- uh- Ja…..mes? Was great at demonstrating proper goalie position, actually." 

"Yeah, well, Dad's been teaching us this stuff since we could walk. He jokes that if he just had one more we could be a full team."

Throndir laughs. "He must care about the game a lot."

"Yeah…" Blue J nods, a strange look on their face for a moment. "I think you're a good teacher, too, though. You did good."

"Thank you," Throndir says sincerely, touched at the compliment. "I hope I can help you all know your stuff and have fun doing it."

"Mission accomplished so far!" They give an earnest thumbs up. "I'm gonna go help the babies get their skates off."

"Alright, see you off the ice."

By the time Throndir has gathered all the cones and pucks the kids have all got their skates off and are getting ready to go with their parents. Adaire is back, Rix and Ro excitedly telling her about practice. As Throndir watches the grinning woman from the team photo, Hella, comes into the lobby and plants a kiss on Adaire’s cheek before scooping up Ro and spinning around with him thrown over her shoulder. He shrieks with laughter and Throndir chuckles too, raising an eyebrow at Adaire. He hadn't realized she had so personal a connection to the Weavers. She catches his eye and shrugs.

"I'm a woman of mystery," she calls to him, and he laughs.

Hella isn't the only parent he recognizes from the team photo. Hadrian, a mildly embarrassed Benjamin in tow, comes over to shake hands.

"Thank you for taking over the coaching job," he says, handshake still going strong throughout the conversation. "Benjamin's great out there-"

_"Dad-"_

"It's been a shame we haven't been able to keep a team going. I hear you were with the Blizzards up in Auniq?"

"Ah, yeah," Throndir nods, trying to look anything other than mildly uncomfortable about it. Hadrian must not notice anything because he plows on.

"Haven't played them while you were there! Tough skaters! You'd be welcome to try out for the Weavers, or just come skate with us sometime!" He looks like he's trying to tamp down on immense enthusiasm, and Benjamin fondly rolls his eyes at his dad's not so subtle attempt at scoping out the new coach’s skating skills.

"I'm alright, thank you, happy just showing the kids how to do it."

"Alright," Hadrian says, a little disappointed. "If you change your mind, though, come on through anytime!" 

"Sure thing."

As Hadrian and Benjamin depart Ben calls a farewell to Blue J and Throndir looks over as Blue J responds with their own goodbye. They're standing with their siblings and a man who must be their father who's holding two of the happily shrieking four year olds, one entirely upside down. He's probably the tallest man Throndir has ever seen, with long hair pulled back into a ponytail, bright red flannel under his coat, and a handsome face pulled into a big happy smile. As he lets out a laugh that can only be described as booming it's that, somehow, that places him as the tall man in the Weaver team photo. The same sort of energy that couldn't be trapped in a still image. Of course Blue J and the rest are good skaters if Red Jack, the team captain, is their father. He can hear him asking the kids about practice in a voice as loud as his laugh, and hears Blue J say Throndir’s name. Throndir flushes, hoping suddenly that this man will have a good impression of him from whatever is being relayed. He shakes his head and goes to bring the last of the equipment to the dungeon for Adaire to lock up. 

\--

Friday afternoon, as is long standing tradition, Benjamin heads to Blue J's house after school. Their house is close enough to school to walk, though Rosana had made Benjamin promise he would always go along with Blue J and never try to do it alone. Benjamin thought he was smarter than someone who might get lost walking to a place he spends the third most amount of time at, after school and his own home, but his mom is the smartest person in the world so agreed to the promise. 

Red Jack is already home with the quadruplets, who's preschool gets out earlier than Ben and Blue's middle school, making a stack of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that are being taken off the plate as soon as he can put them down. 

“Hi Dad!”

“Hi RJ!”

Red Jack waves to them. “If the babies don’t eat everything in the house you can have some sandwiches.”

“Thanks, we’ll come check in a bit.”

The friends head to Blue J’s room, painted all warm colors. Blue J immediately turns on a space heater by the bed before flopping down. Benjamin sits beside them, tossing a blanket half over them. 

“Thank you.”

“No problem, popsicle.”

Blue J sticks their tongue out. “It’s not my fault we live someplace so freezing.”

“Your brothers don’t get so cold and they’re small.”

“They’re just lucky. Or have too much chaotic energy inside them to be affected by simple things like temperature.”

Benjamin laughs. “Well I’m glad you braved the ice long enough to come to play hockey with me.”

Blue J smiles. “It was fun, actually. The new coach seems nice. And like… its better now that it’s not any of our parents maybe. I love them all, but…”

“Yeah, no, my dad was incredibly embarrassing. A neutral third party is for the best.”

“Mhmm.” 

“I do like Throndir,” Benjamin says thoughtfully. He gently kicks Blue J’s leg. “It seems like your dad wanted to go talk to him.” 

"Yeah…" Blue J stares up at the ceiling in contemplation. Red Jack had glanced back at the new coach an awful lot, but the little ones had started to get rowdy so they'd gone home. "He wanted to grill him on game strategy probably."

"What if…." 

Blue J looks over at Ben, who is wiggling his eyebrows. "What?"

"You know!"

"What? You mean like-"

"Yeah! What if he just thinks he's cute?"

"Ben!"

"What!" Ben shrugs. "Mom says Dad thinks the team owners are cute. It's allowed to think people are cute."

Blue J makes a face. "I dunno. I dunno who my dad would think is cute. He doesn't…. I mean, there's all of us to look after. He doesn't have much…. Looking for cute people time." It's not something they've thought much of before. They find themself feeling a little guilty about it. "Do you think… he's lonely?"

Ben flops down on the bed beside them as he thinks, and Blue J rolls onto their side to watch him, bumping their knees together.

"I think he has all of you, and the team and everyone, so he can't get really lonely. But maybe he does want someone to like…. You know, be cute with or whatever." 

“Yeah…”

“Hey!”

Blue J looks up at Ben again from where they’d started to stare at the sheets in concern. “Hm?”

“Don’t worry about it! If he does think Throndir’s cute we’re on the team and we can like pass love letters or something!”

Blue J laughs. “I don’t think my dad is gonna write love letters.”

“We could fake ‘em,” Ben says with a confident wink, making Blue J laugh harder.

“No! Maybe we could help other ways but I don’t know how to write a love letter! They’d tell it was us right away!”

“Alright, but I’ll start practicing just in case. Come on, let’s go see if the babies haven’t eaten the whole kitchen.”

\--

Hours after Benjamin has left and Blue J has helped wrestle four uncooperative preschoolers in to bed they sit at the kitchen table working on some homework. Red Jack moves around the kitchen, cleaning up after dinner now that there’s a moment of quiet. Blue J finds the sounds comforting background noise. Eventually he sits down with a sigh opposite them.

“It’s Friday.”

Blue J looks up at their dad. “Yeah?”

He makes an amused face at them. “Why are you doing homework? You have the whole weekend!”

“If I do it now I don’t have to worry about it later, and can just have fun the rest of the time!”

Red Jack lets out a booming laugh before glancing at the door to the hall nervously. When no four year old comes running out at the noise, he shakes his head and says “My reasonable little Blue. I’m glad you got some sense somewhere! Maybe you took all of mine with you!”

“I don’t think thats how anything works.”

“Mm. I never had all that much sense, anyway.” Red Jack shrugs.

Blue J looks over at him in warm overhead light. He looks tired, but Blue J can’t tell much beyond that. He just looks like their dad. They pull together their courage.

“Dad?”

“Mm?”

“Are you lonely?”

Red Jack looks up at them, frowning. “Lonely? Why?”

“I dunno,” Blue J shrugs, looking down at their paper. “Me and Benjamin were just talking.”

“You and Ben were talking, huh?” 

Blue J nods. There’s silence for a few moments, then the sound of Red Jack’s chair pulling back. Blue J glances over at him as he squats down beside them. Even low like this he’s about as tall as them. Blue J used to think that their dad was the tallest person in the world, and though they figure that’s probably not true they still haven’t seen any proof otherwise. 

“Well, the two of you are pretty smart, but you don’t need to worry about me, ok?”

Blue J frowns. “But if you’re lonely-”

“I’m not lonely! I have you and your siblings, I have the Weavers.”

“That’s what Ben said…”

“Well, you should listen to that kid!”

“Well he also said-” Blue J blinks and snaps their mouth shut before they reveal the other part of that conversation. Red Jack laughs again.

“What?”

“Nothing!”

“Hm!” Red Jack smiles and leans forward to kiss Blue J’s forehead. “Well, I don’t want you worrying, baby Blue! I’m fine, not lonely, I promise.” He stands up, tossing their hair a little. Blue J wrinkles their nose as he returns to his seat. 

“Fine. Just… if you ever wanted… a different friend, you should do that.”

“A different friend?”

“Like! A special friend!”

_“Oh!”_ Red Jack laughs again, surprised. “You’re giving me permission to start dating? Doesn’t that happen the other way around?”

“I’m 12! I’m not going to date anyone!” 

“That’s a relief!” Red Jack crosses his arms, amused. “I appreciate the concern, but I don’t think I have the time right now. And who would I date, anyway?”

“I don’t know!” Blue J proclaims while thinking _Throndir maybe_ very loudly. “Just saying! If you wanted to! You could! I could babysit the babies.” 

“ _You’re_ practically a baby.”

“Dad! I’m 12!”

“Mmhm, still pretty baby.”

“Well me and Ben put together is 24 so he could help.”

Red Jack laughs loud at that one, and in a few moments there’s the patter of small feet down the hall before a small head to match peeks out around the corner. "Hey!" Red Jack shouts, to a tiny shriek of laughter. He looks over at Blue J with a shake of his head. "See. No sense and no authority over toddlers. I have no time for dating! But thank you for the support." He stands up with a groan. "Alright! Bed time part two!" He stomps off to chase his son back down the hallway, trying to shush his giggling so the others don't wake back up as well. Blue J waits a moment before hearing the tell tale raise in noise level signaling he hadn't been successful. They smile, closing their notebook and heading back to help.

\--

  
  


The second Sapkins practice is on Monday, and Adaire again meets Throndir beforehand. 

"No kids this time?"

"Adelaide's getting them from school."

"Adelaide?" 

"My girlfriend."

"But I thought Hella…" Throndir trails off at another lethal eyebrow raise. "Yeah, no, fair." 

They set up the ice for the kids, Adaire competently moving on skates. "You're not on the team, huh?"

She shrugs. "I'm not a hockey player."

"It seems like you'd be a good one. Why don't you try out?"

"Why don't _you?"_

Throndir makes a face. "Ok, I set myself up for that one."

"No answer?"

"Hey, you have secrets, I have secrets."

"Hmm."

The kids trickle in and line up for the warm up skate. Today only two of the quadruplets are there, sliding over to him and each grabbing a pant leg. 

"The other two needed new skates!" Blue J calls. "Jason threw one of his in the river where there was a thawed bit, and Jamie thought that was really funny and threw one in too." 

"Oh my," Throndir laughs, "I bet Red Jack didn't appreciate that."

"He seemed to think it was pretty funny too, actually."

"Ha! Well, that also makes sense."

After the free skate they go back into drills. There's still stuff to work on, but Throndir can already see improvement from day one. Ro even does really well at the passing drill, working with his teammates instead of competing against them. Throndir is just dividing the kids into equal teams for a first practice scrimmage when the missing mites skate onto the ice. He looks up to see Red Jack settling into the stands. Trying not to feel nervous at the observation, he starts off the match, making sure the younger kids stay by his side as referees so they don't get run into by the players. Throndir calls out advice as much as judgements on plays. He has the kids switch positions halfway through, looking to see where everyone might do their best. He hears cheering from the stands whenever either side does well, and he ducks his head to hide a smile at Red Jack's enthusiasm.

Again they miss speaking to each other after practice, but Red Jack smiles at him before he takes his kids home and it makes Throndir feel warm all over. 

"Hmm." 

He looks up in surprise at Adaire, both eyebrows raised this time.

"H- shush!"

She laughs until he leaves to go finish putting away the supplies.

\--

Throndir hadn't done much exploring of the town since his move, so the next morning decides to do some scouting. There was a diner he'd noticed by the rink and thought he would start there. It'd be nice to go to after practice or games, and though it wasn't exploring very far Throndir figured he had to start somewhere.

The air inside the diner is comfortably warm compared to the chill of the morning. There's only a few people inside at this time of day, after the morning rush and before lunchtime. The man behind the counter amusedly listening to two patrons arguing at the bar comes up to the booth Throndir sits down at.

"Hello. I'm Emmanuel, what can I get you today?"

"Oh! Like the sign? Emmanuel's?"

The man laughs. "Yes! That's me, this is my diner." 

"Oh, cool!"

"Ha, yes, I suppose. I've not seen you around before, just headed through or a new arrival?" 

"New arrival! Just moved in last week."

"Well, welcome! People say the chocolate chip pancakes can't be beat."

"I'll try those out then!"

Emmanuel heads back to the kitchen, then returns with a cup of coffee which he insists is on the house despite Throndir's protests. He sits there sipping from the mug and looking out the window at the calm world outside before he's startled by a shout.

"Hey!"

Throndir looks over to the pair at the bar where the taller is hitting the shorter on the arm. 

"What are you-"

"Fero, you can't just-" 

"You said you recognize him-"

"Still! You-"

"Hey!" The shorter one shouts again, waving off his companion. "Does he recognize you?"

"Uh…" Throndir isn't sure how to respond to that. "Where might he recognize me from?" 

"Hockey probably. Have we played you before?" 

At the mention of the sport Throndir recognizes the two from the Weaver photograph. Or at least the short one, though the taller might have been the man half out of the frame on the side. 

"Uh, I don't think so." Auniq hadn't happened to play Old Man's Chin in the time he'd been on the team, part of the reason he'd taken the job here. 

"Have I seen you at the rink, then?" The tall man asks, giving up on not interrupting a stranger's cup of coffee. 

"Uh, maybe. I'm the new little league coach?"

"I still think they shoulda let me give it a shot." 

"Fero. You'd be awful."

"How do you know!"

"I just do."

"Well-"

"Boys!" Emmanuel interrupts them as he comes out of the kitchen with Throndir's food. 

"Sorry."

"Sorry, Emmanuel."

Emmanuel brings over the food. "Sorry about Lem and Fero. They're terrible!" He calls, clearly making sure they hear. Fero sticks out his tongue and Lem waves, sheepish. Emmanuel laughs. "I can't seem to get rid of them," he continues with a fair amount of fondness. "Did I hear you are coaching the Sapkins?"

"Yep!" 

"That's wonderful! I'm happy to host any after game parties. It's so nice that they've found someone to get it running again."

"I'll do my best!"

"I'm sure you'll do great." Emmanuel leaves him to his food. The pancakes really are very good, fluffy and light with the perfect amount of chocolate chips to not be too sweet. About halfway through the plate Lem and Fero get up to leave the diner. On the way out Fero stops by the table. 

"Hey if you're so good at coaching you should come skate with us. Lem says he's seen you play with Auniq, says you're not bad."

Throndir swallows hard. "I thought I'd never played you guys."

"Nah but Lem's doing his thesis on hockey, supposedly."

"Hey, I really am!"

"It's been two years since he got on the team and I haven't seen him write anything."

"I'm! I'm in the research phase! I want to be thorough!"

Fero makes a _can you believe this guy_ face at Throndir. "Whatever. You should come skate with us."

"No, thank you. I'm fine just coaching the kids."

Fero looks sceptical. "Ok, fine. I just know I'd miss it, if I wasn't playing."

Throndir keeps his face very neutral. "Like I said, just coaching is fine with me."

"Sure. See you around, new coach!"

The two of them leave the diner and Throndir tries to take another bite of pancake, appetite waned a little. He does miss it, is the thing, if he lets himself think about it at all. But he doesn't want to go back to how he felt before leaving, and that's that. 

Throndir has picked his way to the end of the plate when the bell rings again. Throndir recognizes the silhouette immediately and washes down his current bite with some now lukewarm coffee. Red Jack notices him as he looks around the diner and only hesitates a moment before coming to his table. 

"Throndir. We've not actually talked."

"We haven't."

"Would you mind if I sit down?" 

"Go ahead!" Throndir tries not to wince at how eager he sounded, but Red Jack doesn't seem to notice, settling down in the booth opposite him. He's still much taller than him sitting down. Throndir feels himself go a little red, and is thankful Emmanuel swings by to take Red Jack's order and refill Throndir's coffee. A second cup will leave him jittery but he's thankful for the excuse for the redness, and for something to do with his hands. 

"You're good out there, with them." 

"Oh, thank you! They're good kids."

"Yeah. And thank you for letting my little ones play along. I can keep them home if it gets too inconvenient."

"No, they're fine! They're very cute, and actually very helpful! I think they know the rules as well as I do!" 

"Ha ha! Well, they've practically grown up with playbooks as bed time stories." 

Throndir lets off a little smile at Red Jack's booming laugh. "I get it. My dad was a player too, back home. All hockey all the time."

Red Jack nods. "I don't want any of them to feel like they _have_ to play, but they all seem to want to. I'm glad! I love the sport!" 

"Blue J says you regret not having a full team."

"Ha! Well, if I dress up the dog in gear we could get along fine."

"You have a dog?" Throndir asks excitedly. He'd left Kodiak at home today, not knowing where he'd go that would be dog friendly or not. Another thing he was looking out for on this exploration. 

"Yes! Ace! A great dane!"

"Oh! Those are great dogs! I have a Tibetan Mastif! His name's Kodiak!"

"Also a great dog." 

"I think most dogs are probably great dogs."

"I think I agree."

Throndir smiles into his coffee. Asking if he'd like to walk their dogs together feels too forward at the moment, but maybe he could work up to it someday. Red Jack's food comes and there's quiet for a little while as he eats. Throndir steals looks at him when he's preoccupied with food. He's very handsome, up close and outside of a blurry photograph, his long hair pulled back into a low ponytail with a few strands of gray, and his face kind and always looking like he's about to laugh. He barely knows anything about the man, he could easily already be romantically preoccupied, but Throndir finds himself wanting to know more.

"You played hockey before?"

Throndir is startled out of his thoughts at the question. "Uh, yeah."

"You considered joining the team here?" 

Throndir sighs, stomach sinking again. "People keep asking me that."

Red Jack frowns. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hit a sore spot."

"No, it's fine. I just… I'm fine coaching. That's on the ice enough for me."

Red Jack nods, then pauses for a moment. "I… was going to go skate a bit before picking up the quads. If you wanted to be on the ice." 

Throndir holds the handle of the coffee mug tight. "Um. I'm alright." Something in his chest catches as Red Jack's face falls. "Some other time, maybe?"

"Some other time," Red Jack agrees, face still somewhat shuttered. He finishes the last few bites on his plate and stands up to leave. "See you around, Throndir."

"See you around..." Throndir replies as the other man walks away, the feeling of having messed up an opportunity sinking unpleasantly into his bones.

\--

The next few weeks pass quickly as the first game against another team draws closer. The kids improve steadily, and Throndir is so proud of their teamwork and kindness to one another. Ro's competitiveness has changed from besting everyone to encouraging everyone to do their best as well. Blue J and Benjamin are calm and collected and still having fun, and Benjamin has fallen into a sort of team captain role though Throndir hadn't thought to assign one.

Throndir sees Red Jack before and after practices and gets a polite smile but neither make the move to talk to each other. Throndir tries to put it out of his mind, focusing on the team instead.

\--

"What was _that?"_ Benjamin whispers at Blue J as they tie their shoes after practice. 

"What was what?"

Benjamin gestures over at Throndir and then back to Red Jack. "They keep doing this thing where it looks like they're gonna talk to each other but give up."

Blue J looks at the two men. Their dad is tying one of their siblings shoes but keeps glancing over at Throndir, who is talking to Adaire but also keeps glancing at him. 

"I dunno…"

"I think we should start on plan Love Letters before one of them starts to wither away of a broken heart."

"What! That doesn't happen."

"In books sometimes it does."

"In real life it doesn't. It's probably just because Throndir said he didn't want to skate with Dad and now they're both trying not to be weird."

"What?" Benjamin makes a comedically shocked face. "Blue! You have to give me all the updates!"

"I dunno," Blue J shrugs. "It happened a few weeks ago. Dad ran into him at the diner and invited him to skate and Throndir said no. He told it like a funny story but I think he might've been a little sad about it."

Benjamin nods wisely. "It's because they're in love."

"Ben…" Blue J shakes his head. "They barely know each other."

"Love at first sight! Or like… they're in Pre-Love."

"What does that even mean?" 

"You know, whatever you are before you're in love with someone."

"Hm," Blue J hums, skeptical. Thinking about it though, they realize Red Jack had asked Throndir to skate after their conversation about special friends. Maybe there's something to Benjamin's speculation. "I'll talk to him."

"Your dad?"

"No, Throndir. You know dad, he's so loud sometimes I think people don't hear the quiet things. Maybe he just misunderstood."

"Alright. But just let me know and I'll have those love letters ready to go."

"Thanks, Benjamin."

\--

After practice Monday, Blue J lingers on the ice after the other kids have left. Throndir pauses in gathering cones and skates over to them.

"Hey, Blue J, I actually had a question for you."

"Oh!" They look surprised. "I have one for you too, sort of. You can go first!"

Throndir raises an eyebrow but nods. "Ok. I was wondering if you'd like to be the team goalie. You do great in the net in drills and scrimmages, and I think you're fast and smart enough to do the job fantastically! But I know it's a high pressure position, and it can feel like everything rests on your shoulders. I know you're good with responsibility with your siblings, but I don't want to put more on you if you're not comfortable with it."

"Oh…" Blue J looks even more surprised. "I do like playing goalie… you think I can do it?"

"I know you can!"

Blue J smiles brightly. "Ok! Yeah! I'll do it!" They begin to skate off, presumably to tell Benjamin, but halt before they get to the edge of the rink and slide back over. Throndir laughs. "Sorry, I forgot my question."

"What's your question?"

They look down at the ice. "Well… it's more… I think my dad would still like to skate with you."

Throndir feels his face get hot. "He told you about that, huh?"

"Yeah… I think he probably likes you, and I think that you should skate with him because I think you might like him too."

Throndir lets out a soft laugh and raises an eyebrow. "You're not very subtle, there."

Blue J shrugs. "You've been not talking for weeks. I don't think subtlety is working."

"Ha, you're not wrong…"

Blue J looks determined. "You don't have to do anything, but my dad is very nice and a good person and I know you don't want to be on a hockey team but he wouldn't make you if that's what you want, he just likes to skate and wants to do something he likes with someone he likes, I think."

Throndir stares for a moment. "You're a pretty smart kid."

"I've heard that before," Blue J shrugs. "I'm gonna go now, just think about it, ok? I don't want either of you to be lonely."

"Thanks, Blue J."

They nod, and wave as they exit the rink. Throndir watches them go, lost in thought.

\--

Getting word to Red Jack proves more difficult than Throndir would have thought. He doesn't have the man's number, and effectively asking him out before or after practice with all his kids there feels weird. He almost goes to Adaire for contact info, but doesn't think he wants to subject himself to the amount of teasing that would involve. He can't rely on just happening to run into him at the diner again. Eventually, packing up one day and heading to the dungeon he walks past the locker room and is struck by an idea. After everything is put away he searches for a piece of paper.

\--

"Benjamin!" 

Benjamin and Blue J are always excited to see each other at the start of a school day, but Blue J seems particularly urgent this morning. "Blue J! Hi! What is it?"

They catch their breath a little after running up. "I saw- when dad came home from his practice yesterday he had an envelope! With Throndir's name on it!"

Benjamin blinks for a moment, then shouts. "LOVE LETTERS! I KNEW IT!"

\--

Throndir is already on the ice at the time he'd told Red Jack to meet him. It's a Tuesday morning again, when Throndir knew the rink would be empty and figured all Red Jack's kids would be at school. He skates nervous figure 8s before picking up the stick he'd grabbed on a whim and starts to shoot some goals. He gets lost in seeing how good his aim still is and doesn't notice Red Jack's presence until a particularly difficult shot gets him applause. 

"Ah! Hey! Didn't see you there."

Red Jack, leaning against the edge of the rink, waves. "Sorry for startling you. You seemed focused."

"I was just messing around. You coming out here?"

Red Jack grins, stepping into the ice and skating over. He's even taller on skates, but moves so gracefully, coming to a perfect stop in front of Throndir. Throndir smiles up at him, then looks back down to the ice with a sigh. 

"I'm sorry, about last time. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, or reject you."

"That's alright." Red Jack rubs the back of his head. "I may have… overreacted. I haven't done much in the way of… dating for quite awhile."

"Honestly, me neither. But I want you to know I was reacting to being invited on the team again, not to your advances. I owe you an explanation."

"Only if you want to give one."

"I do." Throndir holds in another sigh. "I grew up in Auniq, and my dad used to be a star player on the Blizzards. He brought me up on the sport. I played hockey in high school and I had a great time so when I graduated I tried out for the team and got on. I was so excited! He was so proud! But… it was kind of awful? The team is so focused on winning, which, fair, but they're all so… intense about it. No mistakes are accepted. I played goalie for awhile and any slip up was played up to be catastrophic. I was miserable, so I switched to defenseman which was a little more fun to play but everyone treated the change of position like it was a huge failure in me. Like I was a coward who failed at one thing and now was just going to mess up another. And then my one friend… I guess he was my friend, he was still pretty grumpy but I think in a caring way, got injured and had to stop playing and I was so alone. So… I left. And I just don't want to feel like that ever again. So that's why I don't want to join another team."

Throndir had delivered the speech to the ice, and inhales sharply as Red Jack's large, warm hand settles on his shoulder.

"That doesn't sound like much of a team at all."

Throndir looks up at the clipped anger in Red Jack's tone. He's frowning, but Throndir knows it's not at him. 

"I'm sorry they made you feel that way. Hockey is a beautiful sport, about supporting one another and working together. The Weavers are a family, and when someone’s feeling bad we lift them up, not tear them down. The game should be enjoyable, above all else."

"That's what I'm trying to do for the kids."

"I'd say you're succeeding," Red Jack smiles. "My kids won't stop talking about you and the team, anyway."

Throndir smiles big, feeling warm. "I'm glad."

"I'm glad you told me all this. I can get to making you enjoy your time on the ice again!"

"And how are you planning on doing that?"

Red Jack raises an eyebrow, grinning, and Throndir throws his hands over his face. "Oh god! I didn't mean- I wasn't trying to-"

Red Jack's guffaws echo around the empty rink. 

They skate around the rink together, the brush of fingers turning into held hands, talking about the kids and the sport and their dogs and any thing the conversation drifts to. They end up playing a one on one game with the few pieces of equipment Throndir had pulled out that resembles a game of chase and trying to outskate each other more than a game of hockey. By the time Red Jack has to leave to pick up the kids Throndir is out of breath and can't stop smiling.

\--

The day of the Sapkins’ first game is buzzing with excitement. They'd had a special Friday practice the day before and the team had been in high spirits, eager to test themselves out against new players. Throndir isn't the first person to show up to the rink, a small crowd already starting to trickle in. 

“Good luck today,” an old man pauses near him on his way to the announcer booth, layered as much as Blue J tends to be, with his gray dreads pulled into a bun at the back of his head. “I know I’m supposed to be the unbiased commentator, but I’ll be rooting for y’all.” 

Throndir laughs. “Appreciate it.”

He waits for the team in the locker room that they’re borrowing from the Weavers for the afternoon. The kids pile in, pulling on gear and talking in a joyful hush. They go over strategies one last time until it’s almost time to hit the ice.

“Alright everybody,” Throndir says to the gathered team. “We’ve worked hard, and no matter what I want you all to have a great time out there. We ready to do this thing?”

The resounding cheer is answer enough. 

As they’re heading out to play Throndir glances to the stands and laughs. The whole Weaver team is sitting front and center, cheering wildly with signs held high. Red Jack, Hadrian, Hella and Fero each have a mite in their arms, jumping up and down on their laps and wearing blue for their older sibling. Even Adaire is with them, a “Go Sapkins!” shirt on over her coat. The kids wave to their parents as they hit the ice, Benjamin rolling his eyes in embarrassment but grinning.

They start out strong, but the other team does as well, and no points are scored in the first 12 minute period. Throndir encourages them to keep at it in the break, but none of them seem discouraged. In the second period everyone goes at it even harder, determined to make their teammates proud. A referee has to put Ro in time out briefly for trying to fight another kid when they knock over a teammate, but when Throndir nervously looks out to the audience Hella and Adaire are cheering him on. 

Towards the end of the second period the action is focused on the Sapkin end of the rink. Throndir grips the railing, shouting encouragement as Blue J carefully watches the players and the puck. A rival gets the puck away from Benjamin and shoots, and Blue J just barely misses it as they dive down onto the ice. The buzzer for the end of the period sounds. 

“You alright?” Throndir asks Blue J as they skate over with the rest of the team for the short break. “You’re doing great out there! If you want someone else to sub in, let me know though.”

Blue J, ice on their uniform and grin as bright as the rink lights, says “No way! I’m gonna get it next time!” 

Throndir laughs and gives them a high five.

Blue J blocks all other goal attempts made on them in the last period, but the rest of the Sapkins don’t manage to make any of their own either, and as the final buzzer sounds the victory goes to the other team with their single point. The kids don’t seem to be sad about it though, piling together on the ice in front of Throndir and doing their melt-y team cheer just as loud as the winners. The Weavers in the stands cheer loud as well, and after the teams shake hands and climb off the ice they’re greeted by their proud parents. Red Jack lifts a laughing Blue J up in the air, and Benjamin runs to his father to recount the game, any thought of embarrassment gone. Hella gives a noogie to Ro, standing with Rix and Adaire and a beautiful woman with intricate braids that Throndir assumes is Adelaide. Throndir grins at his team, feeling so lighthearted at the celebration.

“Good game, coach.”

Throndir looks up to find Red Jack before him, Blue J and the mites dancing a few feet away with Benjamin.

“It was all the kids.”

“You taught them to have fun and take care of each other out there. That was a great game, you did a good job.” 

Red Jack glances around before leaning in and pressing a very quick kiss to Throndir’s lips. Throndir goes red as he hears both Benjamin and Adaire let out whoops. Red Jack laughs and Throndir clears his throat.

“You happen to be headed to the celebration at Emmanuel’s after?”

“You know, I am indeed going in that direction.”

Throndir smiles, a little shy but sure of the words. “You wanna go together?” He asks, holding out his hand.

“I would like nothing better,” Red Jack replies, taking it. 

  
  



End file.
